Stories from Saturday, October 4, 2014

Now is a great time to purchase your hunting, fishing, and trapping permits for the fall seasons. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) offers convenient ways of purchasing permits to help hunters, anglers, and trappers get to the field. E-Permits...

Southeast Lakes Clearwater Lake
Water Surface Temp: 72º
Water Level (Range): normal
Water Type: clear
Fish Reported: 
Crappie: Slow 
Black Bass: Slow 
Bluegill: Slow 
Channel Catfish: Slow 
all species slow.
(Reported on: 9/23/14)...

October 5 is World Communion Sunday. It is an annual event, the first Sunday of each October, in which Christians worldwide celebrate our oneness in Christ. There is a unity to the faith, scarcely as it might appear and in spite of our many differences and traditions. Special services will be held around the globe testifying to this fact...

SIKESTON -- With seven televisions all tuned to sports and the floor painted like a football field, it isn't hard to see that Tailgaters Grill caters to sports fans. Add in the good food and family atmosphere, and Tailgaters caters to everyone. The restaurant opened in July at 1637 E. Malone, in the building that formerly housed Cronies. However, Tailgaters is not a bar but a family restaurant and a non-smoking facility...

SIKESTON -- An effort last year by a Sikeston couple to comfort their own heartache wound up helping others in the process -- so much so they've organized the event again this year. Oct. 10 will mark two years since Kathy and Brian Lake lost their full-term, newborn son, Tyler Joseph, due to hypoplastic left heart syndrome...

CANALOU -- Details of this week's New Madrid County stabbing have emerged following the arrest of a Canalou man. Justin H. Lafferty, 30, is charged with felony first-degree assault-serious injury and felony armed criminal action. According to the probable cause statement provided by New Madrid County Circuit Clerk's Office, the New Madrid County Sheriff's Department responded Wednesday night to Main Street in Canalou in reference to someone being stabbed. ...

SIKESTON -- The way some folk will use statistics to twist the truth is almost criminal. There are many reasonable explanations for how Sikeston ended up being at the top of this list of the state's most dangerous cities with the most obvious being to consider the source...

SCOTT CITY -- Unlike the NFL, there are no red flags in high school football. The call on the field always stands. So when the officials signaled a touchdown when Hayti sophomore Dayon Moore hauled in a 5-yard scoring pass from fellow sophomore Maurice Farr with 5 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the back of the end zone to break a tie, there was no recourse for a doubtful Scott City sideline...

sports@standard-democrat.com MALDEN -- The Malden Green Wave scored 49 points in the first quarter and were quickly on their way to a SEMO South Conference title. Malden defeated Chaffee at home 68-8 continuing their undefeated season and wrapped up the conference title out-right...

NEW MADRID - The Dexter Bearcats varsity football program set its sights on becoming champs long before the 2014 season ever got underway. "We put in a lot more time during the summer," Dexter senior Noah Kronk said. "We worked a lot harder than normal. We were more focussed and more intent on learning the new plays, perfecting the plays we had already learned from last year and just perfecting the offense."...

sports@standard-democrat.com EAST PRAIRIE -- "One for the ages." Those were some of East Prairie head coach Chad Jamerson's parting words as he exited the huddle following the Eagles' improbably 34-32 homecoming win over Portageville Friday night. With a little improvisation from senior receiver Mack Marcum, East Prairie stunned the Bulldogs with a game-winning 'hook-and-ladder' that was capped with a 37-yard run from Deverence Jones that Eagle fans won't soon forget...

sports@standard-democrat.com SIKESTON -- For a half, Sikeston kept things interesting. With the Bulldogs trailing just 7-0 against heavily favored Jackson, area fans learning of the halftime score no doubt had to do a double-take. But the Indians came alive with a 28-point third quarter and ended up cruising to a 42-0 victory at Sikeston Public Schools Stadium...

SIKESTON -- The cotton bolls are opening, turning southeast Missouri's fields white. However, before the harvest begins, Sikeston will celebrate the crop once declared "king" in the South. "We don't have mountains; we don't have rivers; we don't have oceans, but we have cotton," said Lynn Lancaster, director of Historic Downtown Sikeston, which is sponsoring The Cotton Festival on Oct. 11 in Downtown Sikeston...

The Charleston High School Cheerleaders high-five Charleston Middle School students before going down Main Street Friday. The Charleston community gathered Friday at multiple locations to cheer on the CHS cheerleaders who were headed to the State Cheer Championship in Columbia. ...

LAS VEGAS -- Frances Irene "Frankie" Smith, died Sept. 16, 2014, at her home. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

SIKESTON -- Linda Ruth Gosnell Harmon, 66, died Oct. 2, 2014, at Clearview Nursing Home in Sikeston. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. -- Corine Williams, 64, formerly of Catron, Mo., died Oct. 1, 2014, at the Methodist University Hospital in Memphis. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

JACKSON -- Ronald Elison Williams, 83, died Oct. 3, 2014, at the Jackson Manor Nursing Home in Jackson. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

EAST PRAIRIE -- Ruth Naomi Greer Barker, 71, died at 6:15 a.m. Oct. 3, 2014, at her home. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

WAPPAPELLO -- Bill Modglin, 83, died Oct. 3, 2014, at Advance Assisted Living Center. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

PORTAGEVILLE -- Pauline Yarbro, 91, died Oct. 3, 2014, at Pemiscot County Nursing Home in Hayti. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

POPLAR BLUFF -- Margaret Ramsey, 65, died Sept. 30, 2014, at her home in Poplar Bluff. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

LAFAYETTE, Tenn. -- Jewell L. Jones, 90, died Oct. 3, 2014, in Lafayette. For the complete obituary, see the Sunday edition of the Standard Democrat.

I want to say that after meeting somebody and you talk to them, it's kind of personal, somebody should know how bad drugs are. I should have been dead three years ago. The only reason I'm alive is the man upstairs. I just want to let people know how dangerous drugs are...

Most dangerous my foot! That's my reaction -- and it should be yours -- on a report out this week that Sikeston was the most dangerous city in Missouri. Okay, for starters, this announcement fails to pass the smell test. It just smells fishy that our small community is more dangerous than St. Louis, for example...